Isla leaned back against the door of her apartment, her eyes fluttering closed for just a moment. She could still hear Dominic's voice echoing in her head.
"If you were my mate... I'd know. I feel nothing."
The words cut deeper now, painfully echoing in her head. She had replayed every second of their night together, clinging to the way his hands had touched her and the way his breath had hitched when he'd entered her.
But maybe she had imagined it.
Maybe she was just another desperate girl chasing the illusion of fate, clinging to the idea of a bond that wasn't real.
She stepped out of her heels with slow, aching movements, her fingers reaching up to unfasten the tight clip in her red hair.
She padded through the hallway towards her bedroom, too tired to even turn on the light. She just needed to collapse. To sleep. To forget everything including Dominic's eyes, his voice, the burn of rejection and the terrible way he'd looked at her like she was nothing.
She stepped into the room and froze.
There, sitting on the edge of her bed like he belonged there was Mikael.
Her breath caught in her throat. She blinked, hoping it was a hallucination.
It wasn't.
"Home so soon?" he asked, his voice laced with amusement.
Isla's entire body went cold.
"How-" she swallowed hard, her throat going dry. "How did you get in here?"
Mikael smiled slowly, like a wolf baring its teeth. "Please, Isla. You think I don't know how to open a few locks? After everything we've been through?" He tilted his head. "Tsk. You should really be more careful."
She took a slow step back, but he stood in one fluid movement.
And suddenly, the weight of everything hit her all at once: the rejection, the fear, the mistake she might have made by walking into Dominic's life, and now, the living nightmare standing in her bedroom.
"What do you want?" Her voice was steady. This time she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her fall apart.
Mikael stepped closer. "You disappeared, mi vida. You vanished like smoke. You really thought I wouldn't come looking?"
"I don't belong to you anymore," she said.
He stopped a few inches from her, his breath hitting her skin. "No," he said softly, his face twisting with a darker expression. "But you will."
Isla's blood ran cold.
"A little bird told me you went to see my enemy for help," he said and she gulped.
"What are you talking about?"
At that, Mikael's smile turned razor-sharp. "Dominic Argento?The CEO with ice for a heart? Darling, I wouldn't count on him."
Something in Isla cracked.
But Mikael wasn't finished. His gaze dropped to the faint mark on her collarbone, just barely visible where her blouse had slipped.
His eyes narrowed.
Then... they darkened.
He lifted his hand and slapped her so hard that she lost her balance and fell, her ear ringing.
"You whore," he spat
She blinked back her tears. "I'd rather be a whore than let you own me," she snapped.
He turned away from her, letting out a shaky breath like he was seconds from exploding.
"I came here to give you a choice," he said. "You can come back willingly... or I can remind you exactly how I deal with disobedience."
Her heart thundered and she watched him as he walked out of her room. She flinched as he slammed the door shut.
****
Weeks blurred by in a dizzying rush, and soon it was Isla's wedding day.
She sat in front of a towering mirror, the makeup artist's brush soft against her cheek, but Isla barely registered the flurry of preparations around her. A heavy nausea churned deep inside her, bile clawing at her throat.
Her period was three days late.
She'd bought a pregnancy test the day before, but fear had kept her from using it. Her father would kill her if he knew she was pregnant before the wedding.
"You look beautiful," Nelly said gently, but Isla barely heard.
The wave of nausea returned suddenly and she bolted to the bathroom, her hands trembling as tears pricked her eyes. For several agonizing minutes, she heaved into the toilet, her heart pounding.
Finally, with shaking hands, she reached for the pregnancy test kit.
***
"Do you, Isla Del Cruz, take Mr. Mikael Voss as your loving husband?" the priest's voice rang out over the hushed chapel.
Silence pressed against her ears as Isla's fingers clenched the fabric of her dress. She refused to meet Mikael's intense gaze.
He shifted, sliding an arm around her waist.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, his tone dangerously low.
Several pairs of eyes flicked to her, including her father's scorching glare, but all Isla could think of were the two pink lines on the pregnancy test she had glimpsed just moments before.
Mikael couldn't be the father.
Dominic Argento was.
"What-?" the priest began, but Isla cut him off.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do this," she said quietly but firmly.
Confusion and fury flashed across Mikael's face, but she didn't wait for his response. Heart pounding, she bolted towards the exit and hopped into her car.
"Isla!" Mikael shouted, blocking her path.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she started the car. When he lunged forward to stop her, she growled and pressed the gas, forcing him to leap out of the way.
Her heart pounded hard as she sped out of the parking lot, glancing at the pregnancy test on the passenger seat through the rearview mirror.
Despite everything, she felt guilty for dragging Dominic into her chaos. But she was desperate.
***
Isla sat in her car, engine off, her eyes fixed on the darkened office building before her. She had waited in the parking lot for nearly three hours, her heart pounding with a cocktail of fear and resolve.
When Dominic's sleek black car finally emerged from the underground garage, she followed at a careful distance, shadows shielding her as she trailed him through the quiet city streets. Then, without warning, Dominic veered sharply into a narrow alley, the kind of place where dark deals were made.
Isla parked a few feet behind and stepped out into the cool night air, her heels clicking softly on the pavement.
Dominic leaned against the brick wall, his arms crossed.
"So," he said, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "You're following me now?"
Isla squared her shoulders. "I needed to see you."
His gaze roamed over the dress she hadn't bothered to change out of.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Dominic said. "Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon or something?"
"I'm here for a proposal," she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside.
Dominic arched a brow, amusement flickering in his eyes.
He pushed off the wall and moved closer, the streetlights glinting off his grey eyes.
"Go ahead. Entertain me."
This man was dangerous. The air around him seemed to crackle with both tension and mystery. Running to him for help was a gamble she wasn't sure she could afford.
Blinking several times, Isla fought the urge to flee.
Dominic's gaze sharpened.
"Are you here for a staring contest?" he asked, his deep voice cutting through the silence.
Taking a deep breath, she held out the pregnancy test strip.
Shock exploded across his face, his eyes widening.
"What the hell is that?" he demanded.
Their eyes locked, a fierce storm raging between them.
"I'm pregnant," she finally dropped the bomb and he froze.